Grumpator

Camping trip!

2013-06-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we met our friends the Joneses and the Milazzos at Cedar Canyon Campground near Cedar City, UT for 3 nights camping! We were a little nervous because this was our first real camping trip with Elmer, but he loved it!

We left Friday morning and made great time up the hill. We managed to meet the Milazzos at Jacob Lake Inn for lunch, and then we all continued the rest of the way to the campground. We got there a little after 4 PM Utah time, and the Jones had only been there about 30 minutes before us! So we all got set up, cooked our dinners, and enjoyed visiting.

Elmer loved the tent! He loved the air mattress, he loved checking out the walls of the tent, and exploring all the things in the pockets. He napped really well in his crib, once he settled down from the excitement of the tent. He went to sleep for the night in his crib too, but it got too cold for him around midnight each night, so we brought him into bed with us and he slept snug as a bug the rest of the night.

Saturday, we explored the campground, took naps, and relaxed. The weather was beautiful! Games were played, drinks were drunk, and food was et.

Elmer really liked wandering around outside, watching the other kids play, and sharing Ronan's toys (thanks Ronan!). He also liked sitting in his own camp chair next to Ruth!

Sunday, we drove up to Cedar Breaks, which was only about 20 minutes from our campground. The Joneses joined us, and the kids got Junior Ranger badges after completing a workbook. Here they are with their badges!

We were all pretty tired Sunday night, so turned in early. Monday morning, we all got up, ate breakfast, and packed up the camp. The Milazzos headed back down to Flagstaff, the Joneses went up north to Utah Valley, and we continued north to visit my family in Layton. We had a great time camping with our friends!

Waxing romantic

2013-05-20T19:54:00.003-07:00

We sold our old truck today. It felt so strange to come home and not see it in the driveway. Chris bought it in 1991, and it was our only vehicle until we bought the Prius in 2003. There are a lot of memories tied up in that old truck, but I wanted to share a couple of my favorites.

The first summer Chris and I were together, we took a road trip to California to visit a friend and go to Disneyland. It was my first time going to Disneyland and my first trip with a boyfriend! We listened to Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams: a big set of cassette tapes checked out from the library, played on a boombox because the truck didn't have a stereo. On our way back home, Chris decided it was time for me to get behind the wheel again - I had been in a serious car accident earlier that year and hadn't driven since. And it had been years since I'd driven with a stick shift. But I slid into the driver's seat and cruised on home. I've done most of the driving on our road trips ever since!

Another time, we drove up to Pinetop for Spring Break to stay at a cabin. We didn't want to leave Kitty alone for a week, so we brought her with us. She rode curled up on my jacket in between our bucket seats. She was scared silent on our way up there and was so relieved to get out of the truck and explore the cabin. However, she meowed the entire ride home - 4 hours!

Most of the times that we had to take Kitty someplace, it was in the truck. She had a special power to expel fur violently from her body whenever she was in a moving vehicle. This wasn't like simple shedding, the fur sprung off her body in all directions. When we moved from our old apartment to our house, I drove with Kitty in the cab of the truck. She stood up on my lap, with her front paws on the steering wheel, yowling and fur flying everywhere for the 5 mile drive. I sneezed the entire time.

Again, when Chris and I first started dating, he drove me up to Lockett Meadow near Flagstaff. We went up at night, and Chris took advantage of the truck's 4 wheel drive on the dirt road. It's a rough, single lane road, and it winds up the mountain. I admit to being a little nervous on the way up since it felt like Chris was driving very fast (though I'm sure that was just my imagination). When we got up to Lockett Meadow, though, it was peaceful and serene. We had a blanket and we laid back in the bed of the truck and looked at the stars.

Even though we hardly drive the truck any more, I feel a little nostalgic. In a way, it was one of the last vestiges of our childless life (not that I'm not happy with my life now). But increasingly, it's just too impractical to have a vehicle that only sits 2 people. If we want more cargo room, we also need more seating. It's time to move on. The truck has a good new home now.

Elmer's 15 months old!

2013-04-25T19:34:00.002-07:00

Elmer had his 15 month check up, along with the appropriate booster shots, at the doctor's this morning. Here are the latest stats!

Height: 32 inches (80th percentile)
Weight: 23 pounds (30th percentile)
Head circumference: 18.5 inches (40th percentile)

He's growing just fine! After his appointment, we went shopping and to Ted's Hot Dogs for lunch. He loves hot dogs! But he realized he was sore from the shots after his nap, so needed lots of cuddling this afternoon.

This past month has been a blur. The biggest news is Elmer is walking! He'd been taking a few steps here and there for a while, but starting right at the beginning of April he decided he was ready to go! Here's a video I took on April 3:

We had a lovely Easter at the end of March. Elmer did his first Easter egg hunting -one at church and one with with his cousins! He liked eating his hard-boiled eggs - they're one of his favorite foods! Grammie Perry gave him a nice little suit to wear for the occasion:

We're enjoying the beautiful spring weather here in Phoenix - it's so nice to spend time outside! We like to go for bike rides to the park.

This year we bought a membership to the Phoenix Zoo, so we went for a visit. Aside from the goats at the petting zoo, Elmer really liked watching all the other kids.

Elmer loves being outside - especially hanging out in the backyard with us in the afternoon before dinner. As the summer starts to heat up, though, we want to make sure we take the proper precautions. Here's Elmer in his new hat!

He isn't saying any recognizable words yet, but he does talk a lot and likes to mimic some of the sounds we make. He definitely understands what we say, though, and he's gotten pretty good at signing "more" when he wants something. We're working on "please" and "thank you."

Needless to say, we're having a great time watching our little boy grow. It's hard to call him a baby any more - he's a toddler!

Cloth diapering review

2013-04-19T21:46:00.001-07:00

I don't know if I ever mentioned it here, but before Elmer was born - heck, even before we knew we were pregnant, I had planned to use cloth diapers instead of disposable. I watched friends and family use cloth back in the day, and I personally use a menstrual cup instead of...ahem...disposable methods. I just can't stand the thought of all that waste! It helps that cloth diapers are cheaper than disposable as well.

So, now that we're 15 months into it, I thought I'd give an overview of how I like it and what seems to work for us. In short, we love cloth diapers!

First off, cloth diaper design has come a long way since even my nieces were in diapers - while you'll see I'm sticking to pretty traditional (and cheap!) prefolds and covers, there are a wide range of cloth diaper options.

While there are a variety of cloth diaper supplies and information online, we are lucky to have a couple of great local options. Zoolikins has a store in Scottsdale, as well as great website, and GoGoNatural is a home business run in Chandler. I buy 95% of my supplies from these local stores.

I wanted to keep it pretty cheap and simple, so our cloth diaper stash consists of pre-fold diapers and waterproof PUL covers. Zoolikins has a great starter pack deal, which was an easy way to get started. We are now on our third size of diaper, but I think this size will probably last us until potty training. Prefold diapers are your basic style of diaper - a rectangular diaper that you fold (there are a variety of folds - we use the newspaper fold for our little guy), secure with a fastener, and pair with a waterproof cover. No need to use pins any more - Snappis are wonderful invention!

As for covers - I've tried quite a few different covers over the past year, and I've decided that my favorites are the Thirsties Duo Wrap, and the Blueberry Coverall, with Rumparooz One-Size cover being a good alternative. The Thirsties and Blueberry fit great over a pre-fold without too much fuss and are easily adjustable. The Rumparooz are great, too, but my only complaint is that they seem to require a bit more stretching to fit, and are more prone to rub Elmer's legs a bit much. The PUL is a lot thicker, which is nice, but I also wonder if it just doesn't breathe as well as the Thirsties or the Blueberry cover. All three are available in really cute colors and patterns - much better looking than disposables.

For night-time diapering, we just add an insert to the regular prefold.. We have been using microfiber inserts, because they hold a lot of liquid and wick moisture away from the skin. However, after a few months they really start to smell, I mean really smell. Also, Elmer's skin often looks really red and irritated at that first morning change. I've just bought a few hemp inserts, so we'll see how they do as a replacement.

I also like the Flip diapering system for traveling - the covers do fit over regular prefolds fairly well, but you can buy disposable inserts that fit inside if, for example, you're at a cabin for a week and don't want to worry about laundry. Theoretically, I could also use any of my microfiber or hemp inserts with these covers - I just haven't done it since I'm happy with my prefolds. Since the inserts don't require folding or fasteners, I have thought about setting these out for babysitters. The Flip covers and inserts are very affordable, so I'd definitely recommend them to anyone thinking about doing cloth diapers and wants something simple, but doesn't want to spend a lot of money up front. I'll probably go with Flip when Elmer's ready for training pants.

We haven't been in the pool much yet, but we have a Bummi's swim diaper all lined up for this summer! These are super cute!

We don't find laundry to be too much of a hassle for cloth diapers. We do a load of diapers about every 2-3 days. I don't buy special detergent, but do use a recommended detergent from this list. For a long time we just had a hanging wet bag in Elmer's room, but I just switched to a pail with a reusable liner. We also have a diaper sprayer in the bathroom for handling poopy diapers - we just spray them off into the toilet.

We did use disposables that were given to us for Elmer's first week or so, and then again on our first trip out of town. After using cloth for a few months, we were not impressed with disposables when we traveled. They were much more prone to blowouts and leaking, were smellier, and definitely skimpy. Chris and I both were glad to get back to our cloth diapers after that first trip. With all the great cloth diapering options available now, I have no intention of ever using disposables in the future!

Elmer's 14 months old!

2013-03-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

March has flown right by, I can't believe it'll be April in a week! The weather has just been beautiful - we had a couple cool days, a couple hot ones, but for the most part it's just been perfect. The citrus trees started blooming early last week, so the air is just perfumed with their aroma. Our tangerine tree is right by the front door and is doing its best to make our house smell fantastic! We're helping by keeping the doors and windows open and letting the breezes flow through the house.

Elmer has been enjoying the weather too - he loves looking out the window, standing by the back door, and spending more time outside! He's gradually getting more brave about walking alone, but he'll still only take a few steps without hanging on to something. He's gotten comfortable with one-handed walking, though!

There's not a lot of new news this month, but lots of gradual development. Elmer's getting better at signing "more" and was doing "up" fairly accurately tonight. He's starting to learn the names of some body parts - he's very good at pointing at my nose (I'm still working on his nose!), and he'll point at his knee and sometimes his belly. He'll wave hello and goodbye sometimes, especially at the cats. He picked up my hair clip today and tried to put it on his head, and he'll touch his brush to his hair. It's pretty cute.

His favorite games right now are peekaboo, hide and seek, pull pots out of the cupboard, slide magnets off the fridge, flipping light switches on and off, and seeing how long he can make Mama and Father carry him around looking at everything he points at.

He also loves to read - he's always pulling books off his shelf or our end table, and we always read together in the mornings and before bed.

We recently acquired a little organ, and it's his new favorite instrument!

A couple of weeks ago, I adjusted my work schedule and we tweaked Elmer's morning naps, so now we all can eat breakfast and dinner together as a family. That's been very nice! At breakfast, I make a big bowl of oatmeal to share with Elmer, and Chris has his morning smoothie. Elmer eats just about anything we put in front of him - he really wants to try whatever we're eating. He loves holding his own spoon and fork, even if they aren't necessary. We're definitely getting to the point where we don't need to make very much baby cereals or special foods for him - he's getting very good at eating regular food as long as it's not too chewy. He'll still drink a bottle of juice at church on Sundays, though.

Last weekend was our annual St. Patrick's Day party. Several of our friends came who also had little kids, and Elmer was pretty fascinated playing with them.

(This little girl is almost exactly a year younger than Elmer - I can't believe he was that small last St. Patrick's Day!)

We're looking forward to Easter next week!

13 Months

2013-02-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

This past month, it seems like Elmer's doing something new every day! He's growing so fast! Here are a few highlights:

He has another tooth, one of the top front teeth! We only discovered it last weekend, but it must have been there for a bit since it's already out! He's also getting his second bottom incisor, and maybe the top as well. He loves chewing on things, especially crackers and biscuits.
He's getting more independent! Sometimes, he gets fussy at mealtimes if he can't feed himself something. At the very least, he likes to have his own spoon so he can practice conveying food to his mouth.
He's also exploring! He wants to climb everything: Father, Mama, the couch, the cat tree, the chair, the bed. He's pretty cautious about it, but he's taken a few tumbles. He usually shakes it off pretty quickly, then it's back to work!
He's getting better at communicating - he's figured out how to point at things. When we're holding him, he will point in the direction he wants us to go, or the toy or item he wants to investigate, or the light switch he wants to flip on and off. He's also learning the sign for "more", and definitely understands many of the things we say.

Two weeks ago, we took our first day trip up to Flagstaff to visit the Milazzos. Not only did we have a good time visiting and playing games, there was also a lot of snow! We took Elmer outside for just a little while so he could check it out.

And, just this weekend, he's started taking his first steps unassisted! He'll be walking by himself in no time!

One year check-up and stats

2013-01-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

We had our one year appointment with the pediatrician today, so here are the latest stats:

Height: 31.5 inches (92nd percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds (24th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (21st percentile)

So he's growing just fine! He also had a barrage of vaccines: MMR/Varicella/Hepatitus A and his second flu shot of the season. I am always impressed by the expertise of the nursing assistants who administer the shots: they team up and time the shots for 2 rounds of 2, so Elmer only feels two pricks even though he's getting four.

Elmer's had a nasty head cold this week, but he's doing much better today. He's not nearly as congested and is only coughing occasionally, so I think he's on the mend.

One Year!

2013-01-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today, Elmer is one year old! I know I begin every one of these posts with "I can't believe it" but I really can't - this year has flown by so quickly and it's hard to grasp that just 12 months ago this guy:

looked like this:

Lots of things have happened since I posted last: Elmer got his first tooth! He just has his lower right incisor, but he just loves to chew on everything. He eats three full meals a day, and only has a bottle first thing in the morning and maybe another one for an afternoon snack. He's really not interested in his bottle for the most part, and he stopped nursing completely about 3 weeks ago. Adult food is where it's at!

He wants to try everything he sees us eat!

Right after Christmas, Elmer discovered that crawling is way faster than creeping, so he's been doing that nonstop ever since.

He's also experimenting with non-traditional technique sometimes - one leg out at an angle, or bear walking on his toes instead of knees. He loves holding hands and walking (running!) as much as possible, though, so I'm sure he'll be walking all alone in no time. He loves to climb up things - he wouldn't stay away from the stairs at our friends' house a couple of weeks ago, loves to climb on the couch, and very importantly, is getting good at climbing back DOWN again!

Speaking of Christmas, we had a great day with both of our families. Elmer enjoyed playing with his cousins, and liked opening presents. He didn't care so much about what was IN the presents yet, but the next morning he appreciated the new toys. And we appreciated new warm pajamas for the chilly winter nights!

Elmer's also expanding his vocabulary. He calls me "muh", and Chris "da" and he's pretty good at letting us know what he wants. He loves reading books, especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Good Night Gorilla. He's very curious, but likes to study everything before making a decision about it - usually poking it with his finger before grabbing it. Of course, then EVERYTHING goes in his mouth for the all-important "Is it food?" test.

We just love our little birthday boy and look forward to many happy years in the future!

Looking back at 2012

2013-01-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late this year with my retrospective, but today is the last day before the start of the spring semester, so it's a great day to reflect on the past year and think about what's ahead for 2013.

OMG 2012!
2012 was a huge year for me! Obviously, the biggest impact on my life was the birth of our son, Elmer. He's been a wonderful addition to my life, a constant source of joy, and he teaches me something new every day. Having a child challenges me to grow, to learn, and to expand my boundaries - learning to be a mother has changed me in a more fundamental way than any other event in my life. I've loved every minute of it!

I came back from maternity leave to the news that I was granted continuing appointment (our equivalent to tenure) and promote to Associate Librarian! It was also the end of the spring semester, so I spent the summer learning how to balance work and motherhood, and then jumped into the fall semester. It's all so much a blur, it's hard to say what I accomplished this year. But I gave a couple of presentations at the AzLA Conference in November that were well-received. I'm still doing licensing for the ASU Libraries. We rolled out the ASU Digital Repository in a more public way, and have started our push to add content. I started doing some workshops on fair use and copyright for authors which will hopefully have more play in the year ahead. Oh, and I became the gaming librarian, but I'm still working out what that means.

I didn't set many goals for myself this past year, but the biggest one was adjusting to having a child, and I think I've done that one pretty well. I thought learning to make Hollandaise sauce would be harder than it was - I made two attempts and they both turned out just fine. I feel I could whip up a Hollandaise sauce any time I want to, so I'm checking that goal off the list. I also wanted to work on my relationships with the people I care about. Annnndd...I'm still working on that one. It's been harder than I anticipated, since I wasn't good at contacting people even when I didn't have a small person demanding most of my attention. But some steps have been taken - I'm trying to just call people when I want to talk, or sending them an email. So I feel that some progress is being made.

Here Comes 2013!
Professionally, the next year brings much of the same. I'm optimistic that there seems to be more interest in open access issues among my colleagues and at the university in general, and I hope to spend some more time talking to people about it. I submitted a proposal about harvesting content for the repository that would be a big project for me for several months if it's accepted. I have my usual batch of committees to deal with and a couple of events to plan. I haven't planned on attending any conferences at this point, but maybe I'll finally make it to the Games, Learning & Society Conference in June since it's now actually relevant to one aspect of my position. I'll also have to define what exactly it means for me to be the gaming librarian, and that should probably be high on the priority list for the next month.

I've finally given up on trying to use a digital to-do manager. I've tried Remember the Milk, ToDoist, and several others, and none of them really help me get anything done. So I'm reverting to analog, and just set up a Hipster PDA to see if I like that system better.

Resolutions
My biggest resolution this year is to take better care of myself. Now that I've gotten used to having a baby, it's time to bring some of the other things that matter to me back into my life. I'm working in some exercise (100 pushups again, among other things), trying to bring back some better eating habits (I got so used to eating for two!), and getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I also want to read more books - I've been a bit bogged down by participating in two book clubs, so I haven't made much of a dent in my own to-read list. I miss reading things I want to read! Finally, I'm playing my guitar again after a year's hiatus. All these things remind me that I can be Anali as well as Elmer's mama, and that's important.

Just for fun, I'll be doing a year in pictures again - with my phone and Flickr's improved app, there's just no excuse for not posting. I didn't decide to do it until yesterday, so I missed the first 2 days of the year, but here we go!

Elmer's 10 (and a half!) months old!

2012-12-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little late with the 10 month post, but time just goes by so fast! He's already almost 11 months old! He's growing like a weed! We had to pack up all the baby clothes sized 9 months or less, and he's very comfortable in 12 month-sized onesies!

This month has been very exciting, as Elmer just exerts more and more of his independence. He can pull himself up on anything within reach, and can cruise all around the living room all the way into the kitchen on furniture, the wall, and the refrigerator. He scoots through the house with amazing speed, so we can't take our eyes off him for more than a minute before he's out of sight down the hall or heading for the cat's food dishes.

He's also getting better at feeding himself. He can eat just about anything we can, even without any teeth! He'll gnaw on a pickle spear until it's gone, gum up crackers, bread, pancakes, cheese, and loves peanut butter! He's usually very good about eating his dinner, but he especially likes it when we all eat together and he can supplement his food with tastes from our plates.

Elmer's also getting better at communicating. He's starting to sign when he wants more food, he's learning to wave, and he likes to clap and dance when there's music or he's excited.

Every day is so much fun, watching him learn and grow!

In which I get ranty - you've been warned

2012-10-26T15:27:00.001-07:00

I'm writing this post because I wanted to sort out why Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock's debate response bothered me - when I essentially believe that what he said was true.

Mourdock said, in response to a question about his views on whether abortion should still be legal in the cases of rape or incest, that "Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." I, too, believe in God. And I believe that God is in all things, for good or evil. I believe that all life comes from God. I don't think Mourdock was trying to say that God intends for rape to happen. But I still think it was wrong for him to what he did, and here's why.

Mourdock is interviewing, if you will, for a position of power - to represent ALL the people of the state of Indiana in the U.S. Senate. Many of those people are not Christian. More than half of them are probably women. Statistically speaking, a significant number of them have been victims of rape. It's fine for Mourdock to believe as he does, but it is NOT fine for him to impose his specific beliefs on the people of his state. It is NOT fine for him, as a potential member of the U.S. Senate, to impose his specific beliefs on the entire population of the United States - and especially not okay for him to impose his specific beliefs on the women of the United States. It's fine for him to hold those beliefs, which are firmly mainstream Christianity, but he needs to understand that when he says that, in that context, he is effectively saying he intends to impose his beliefs on others.

Look - I believe that abortion is not a good thing. In an ideal world, there would never be the need for an abortion - all pregnancies would be wanted, would be healthy, would be risk free. But in this world, that is not the case. There are so many situations when abortion is the lesser evil and it's not my place, or your place, or the government's place to judge. I firmly believe that the decision to have an abortion rests with the mother, in consultation with whoever she feels she wants to consult: the father (one hopes, and that he is not a rapist), her family, her doctor, her spiritual adviser, her friends, her God. Only she knows whether she could go through with a pregnancy, whether she could care for a child or give it up for adoption. If an abortion is a consideration, it is up to her to make that difficult decision.

I believe that the absolute LAST thing a rape victim needs is to have to undergo public scrutiny and shame in order to secure an abortion if that is her decision. It's so appalling to me that this is even a consideration. Anyone who suggests that that is even an option, as if that makes this judging of others okay, has no compassion. I don't understand why abortion legislation is even part of the discussion about rape, when it is inevitably even more harmful and painful to someone who has just been subjected to a horrible crime.

Finally, I emphatically believe that, with regards to rape, the ONLY thing we should hear from our legislators is that rape is an abomination, that it is a completely reprehensible crime, and that those that commit rape will hunted down and brought to justice. No victim blaming. No talking about "legitimate" or "forcible" rape. No discussions about what the victim SHOULD do if they were impregnated. I don't understand why we don't hear this strong condemnation of rape from our leaders, when nearly 1 in 5 women have been a victim of rape. I don't understand why it is justifiable to go to war in other countries over a few thousand deaths when hundreds of thousands of women in the United States are raped every year and the majority of these criminals go unpunished. There is something seriously wrong with this picture.

Elmer's 9 months old!

2012-10-24T21:10:00.001-07:00

Our big boy is 9 months old! We saw our pediatrician last week, so here are the latest stats:
Height: 29.5 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 1 oz (16th percentile)

This month we've graduated from our infant car seat to a serious new chariot:

Elmer LOVES to walk holding onto our hands. If he had his way, he would do that ALL THE TIME!

Unfortunately, Mama and Father are mean, horrible people and make him try to figure out how to move around on his own. He creeps all around the house now and I think he'll be crawling within a few weeks. Hopefully, he'll forgive us for this atrocity.

We are all just loving October in Phoenix! Elmer enjoys being outside, has tasted squash and pumpkin, and is looking forward to dressing up for Halloween (okay, maybe that's just me).

This past weekend, we ate dinner together at the picnic table every night. I think we all enjoyed it very much and look forward to lots more family meals, indoors and out!

Happy October!

Elmer's 8 months old!

2012-09-24T21:09:00.002-07:00

Eight months have passed so quickly - I sometimes still can't believe we have a son! Some evenings, after Elmer's asleep, Chris is at rehearsal, and it's just me and the cats, I feel as though it were a year ago - or even two - and there's no baby, no fundamental sea change to our lives. Even though there's a load of diapers in the washing machine and I'm wiping his little spoon and cup when I do the dishes, I think "Really?!" and sneak back into his room just to double check.

Yup - there's a baby in there, fast asleep in a completely different position than how I placed him, sometimes curled horizontally at the foot of the crib, sometimes stretched out flat on his back along the side, snoring softly. I can't believe how big he is already, when he was such a scrawny little monkey not so long ago. This was from February 15!

So, eight months old! No statistics, we haven't taken measurements. He'll be weighed, measured, and vaccinated again a few weeks at his 9 month appointment. But he's doing lots of fun stuff!

He's so busy moving all the time, it's hard to get pictures that don't all look like this:

Elmer likes to stand up, leaning against someone, preferably, but any thing will do. He's still not crawling yet, but he's starting to figure some of the parts out. He now can lean forward and balance his weight on his hands!

We don't have a quiet baby any more - he's always talking. He especially likes consonants like "th", "t", "ch" and "zzzz" is particularly hilarious. He has started making his voice heard at church - though he's still learning when it's his turn to talk. Sometimes he likes to add his thoughts to Father Scott's sermon.

No teeth yet, but he's working on some. Chewing on pickles is a great way to alleviate some of that discomfort.

And speaking of food - Elmer eats 3 good bowls of food a day and there's nothing he won't try. He's also getting good at chewing - he loves eating pancakes, cheese, and pretty much any baked good his mama will feed him.

This past month we had our first experience in the pool. Elmer was pretty skeptical, and is still not won over. Though to be fair, it was at a party so there were a lot of other kids splashing around. I'm sure he'll have lots of opportunities to get used to the water.

We also went to the zoo with the Stallards! Elmer liked watching all the Stallard boys, sitting in his stroller like a big boy, and playing in the water.

Next month will be here so fast! Just imagine how much more he'll be doing at 9 months!

Random Thursday Morning stuff

2012-09-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

A nice ROTC cadet, shiny shoes, slacks sharply creased and cap folded neatly under his arm, held the door open for me as I entered the library this morning. I thanked him, and he nodded back. I especially appreciate these little courtesies first thing in the morning.

I found out yesterday that we just hired someone I worked with as a student in the Music Library, 12 years ago. I'll have to run down and say hi later.

Also, yesterday, I registered for a Gamification course on Coursera, which is a free, open, online educational platform, otherwise known as a MOOC (massive online open course). I figured it would be appropriate in light of my new game collection responsibilities, but I do feel a little trepidation about the time commitment. It's not like I have an excess of free time these days. But Chris has rehearsals 3 nights out of the week and I might as well do something other than sit in front of the TV watching streaming Netflix. We'll see how it goes.

We're filming a new episode of the Library Minute this morning, the first since Elmer was born. I'm a little rusty, but hopefully will be able to pull myself together in order to put on a good episode.

I've often blogged a lot about the elections in the past, but I'm not sure I have the energy for it this year. I'm so discouraged by the blatant lies, the meanness of the campaigns, and am battling the despair I feel that politicians care more for their own aspirations than the good of the people they represent. I'm sure I feel this way every election season, but this year seems worse. I watched Michelle Obama's speech, as well as Bill Clinton's, and, while they were great speeches, I can't help but feel that it doesn't actually make any difference. Will they actually convince people that haven't already decided how they will vote? Do such people really exist? I don't know.

So I don't sign off on such a negative note, here's a picture of Elmer from yesterday.

Fall 2012

2012-08-30T19:28:00.002-07:00

The fall semester is underway - 10,000 new students have moved in at the Tempe campus, we have 74,000 students attending ASU this year, and the usual shenanigans have ensued.

Even though I've been back at work for 4 months already (!), I returned right at the end of the spring semester. I've spent the last 4 months in summer mode, so the onslaught of the new academic year is a bit more of a shock for me than usual. Perhaps, in my dazed state, I've agreed to a few more responsibilities that is wise, but I'm willing to give it a go. Here's what's on my docket this year:

Just got a super-kewl new responsibility - Game Collection Librarian! (or some less lame title as yet to be determined - any suggestions?) I'm not exactly sure what this means or how it'll work, but suffice to say, there's games what need buyin' and I'm the one to do it. For a bit more detail, there is a new Center for Games and Impact, as well as a number of faculty using games in their teaching and research at ASU. It's now my job to see how the library can support them. This is seriously one of my dream jobs, so I'm stupidly happy that I get to work on this. It'll be an uphill battle - there's no budget, lots of suspicion, a decree that I will not be buying games for circulation, and the game industry itself does not make it easy for libraries, but I'm game! (har har)
Just agreed to Chair the All-Libraries Retreat Planning Committee, scheduled for May 2013.
Am the Co-Chair for the 2014 MPLA Leadership Institute Planning Committee
Chair for the Librarians Assembly Compensation Committee
Will be on an as-yet-to-be-determined committee having to do with the ASU Digital Repository
Speaking of the repository - composing "About" and "how-to" materials

Working on communication plans
need to develop a workable plan for mediated deposit

Continuing as an Obama Scholar Mentor
Residency Classification Appeals Board chair
Plan Open Access Week activities in October (gulp!)
Giving 2 (!) presentations at the AzLA Conference in November
Continue doing licenses
Library Minutes (we're recording a new one next week!)
Schedule some new workshops for faculty and grad students on Copyright and Fair Use
And various and sundry other "duties as assigned" as well as a few tentative things - maybe doing a poster at ACRL if we think of something good and it's accepted.

Otherwise, I don't have any travel plans this year for conferences - AzLA will be less than a mile from my house this year. I might go to ACRL if things work out, but I'm honestly not holding my breath on that front.

In a nutshell, there's plenty to do this year. Chris will also start getting pretty busy over the next 2 months as his various groups start picking up again, so we'll both be juggling our responsibilities and caring for Elmer and each other. I feel so lucky that my supervisor and co-workers are so supportive - there's room for flexibility in my schedule, and very little that I can't do from pretty much anywhere. Elmer's always welcome for a visit, though we'll eventually have to settle down to work instead of jaunting around the library to show off.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Bananas are SO good!

2012-08-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

Bananas are SO good! a video by grumpator on Flickr.

BONUS! Video! (It's actually the first I've ever taken!)

7 Months Old!

2012-08-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

Elmer was 7 months old this week! We haven't taken any measurements lately, but he's getting so big!

Fun things he's been doing this month:
He is talking so much - he says "ba-ba-ba", "da-da-da" and is practicing his embouchure for trumpet. He loves to smack his lips and make popping sounds. He likes to talk to himself, to his toys, to the cats, and to anyone else who'll listen.

He is such a good eater! He eats rice and wheat cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, avocado, banana, carrots, beans, spinach, peaches, strawberries.

He's getting very mobile! He rolls front to back, back to front (if he must), he sits, he can pedal himself around in circles, and he's working on pushing himself up onto his knees.

Chris was just hired as the organist and choir director for St. Mark's, so now Elmer gets to help Father practice the organ.

And, of course, he just loves taking his bath!

Today, we went to Elmer's Tacos in Chandler for lunch - we've been wanting to go ever since we first heard about it. Elmer liked the horchata.

Earl Park Lake

2012-07-28T20:32:00.001-07:00

For the third annual Perry family cabin trip, we went up to the White Mountains and rented a cabin right by Earl Park Lake. The Perry's used to have a cabin here as Chris and Peter were growing up, so there are a lot of fond memories.

The weather was beautiful - cool, with a lovely mixture of rain and sun. We especially enjoyed taking Elmer on the longest walks we've done yet. He loves being outside!

Elmer also enjoyed being amused by his cousins.

And Chris and I enjoyed having family around to watch Elmer a little so we could spend a little time meandering around the lake in the evenings.

Hawley Lake and Earl Park Lake are so beautiful - it's such a refreshing retreat from Phoenix in the midst of the summer heat. I took lots of pictures, so see for yourself!

6 months old!

2012-07-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Elmer is 6 months old already! The weeks just fly by now, as we're busy with work, vacations, family events, and visiting with friends. Elmer is a good sport for most of it - he likes being around people and usually puts on a happy face for everyone no matter how tired he is.

We visited the pediatrician last Monday for his 6 month appointment. He got his usual barrage of vaccines, and was weighed and measured. Our big boy now weighs 15 lbs 8 oz - almost triple his birth weight! He's 27 inches long. As far as comparison - he's in the 50-75th percentile for height and 10-25th percentile for weight, so still a tall and skinny guy.

We started trying out solid foods! Elmer's been eating baby rice cereal, yogurt, and carrots. He also tastes pretty much anything we eat. So far, the only thing he's tasted that he really didn't like (at least, as far as we can tell), was limes. Otherwise, he's happy to try salsa, lemons, oatmeal, asparagus, etc. He's still figuring out the whole eating and swallowing thing, though.

He's getting a lot more mobile, too. He still doesn't roll back onto his back, but he can pedal himself around in a circle on his tummy. He's getting good at sitting, and can stand as long as he has something to balance himself against.

He still loves his bouncy chair, particularly when we put it in front of the back door so he can look outside.

He likes to talk and definitely wants to have a conversation - he'll often squawk or coo and then look expectantly at us, waiting for us to respond. We have lots of fun playing, singing, and cuddling. He gives great hugs!

This week, we're going up to a cabin at Hawley Lake with the Perrys! We're looking forward to the cooler weather, some hikes, a little fishing, lots of games, and hopefully some rain!

Road Trip!

2012-07-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

This past week, we made our annual trek to Utah to visit my grandparents. It's a long drive, 13 hours not counting stops, so it can be grueling even for adults! We usually split it into two chunks, and camp someplace in southern Utah or northern Arizona on our way up and back.

We weren't sure how Elmer would handle such a long time in the car, so we didn't go as far as we usually do on the first day of driving. We didn't leave until about 12:30 on Sunday, and arrived at Jacob Lake campground about 7:00 PM, with only a quick stop in Flagstaff for a snack. Elmer did pretty good, but the last hour was very hard for him since it was past his bedtime and he wanted out of the car! Once we stopped at the campground, though, he was happy as a clam. We gave him his dinner, then went across the street to eat our own at the Jacob Lake Inn. We all got to bed about 9:00, and Elmer fell asleep just fine in his bassinet. However, he woke up a couple of hours later and was a little cold, so we brought him to sleep with us on the air mattress. He was all cozy and warm, but probably would have slept better if WE weren't so restless! We're not used to having him sleep with us!

We packed up camp early the next morning, and set off again after breakfast. Elmer was great - we learned that he travels best in the earlier parts of the day. After a few stops every couple of hours for some snacking and wiggle breaks, we arrived at my grandparents' house in the late afternoon. Needless to say, they were excited to meet their newest great-grandson!

We rested the rest of the day, and had another relaxing day on Tuesday. We enjoyed a break from the car and only left to go over to my uncle Eric's house for dinner. We had a great visit, and it was fun to introduce Elmer to his uncle, Aunt Debbie, and cousin Kash!

On Wednesday, we went to visit our friends Mike and Havilah. We spend a lovely day hanging out with them, going to Thanksgiving Point, trying ghost chili hot wings (well, Chris, Mike, Ruth and I did), and having frozen yogurt. Elmer especially enjoyed cuddling with Havi and being entertained by their children.

It was already time to leave on Thursday, but we managed to have a brief visit with my Gramma Bea before hitting the road.

We were anxious to get home, so we made a really long push and drove all the way to Flagstaff. Luckily, Elmer fell asleep after stopping for dinner in Page, so he wasn't so unhappy about driving so late. We stayed at a hotel and left bright and early on Friday to get home by 10 AM. It was a great trip, but we were all so happy to be home! We've been relaxing and napping ever since!

Elmer experienced a lot of firsts this week: first really long drive, first time nursing in public places, meeting lots of family and friends, and sleeping in lots of different places. He was a real trooper! We learned a lot about his (and our) limits, so hopefully our next trip will be even easier.

Of course, there are more pictures!

Elmer's Baptism

2012-06-22T13:46:00.002-07:00

I took the day off today to celebrate my birthday! I've had a great day so far - hanging out with Elmer and Chris, baking an angel food cake for tonight, and...finally organizing Elmer's baptism photos! Thanks to Peter, Ruth, and Miriam for taking pictures!

Here's my favorite picture from that day:

And here's a slideshow of the whole set:

If I receive any more photos, I'll add them to the set.

Also, Elmer turned 5 months old yesterday! I can't believe it's been 5 months already! He's getting so big!

Now I've completed my to-do list for today! Time to relax and look forward to Chris' home-made chicken pot pie and my angel food cake for dinner tonight!

On Sunday, we head off on our annual Utah trip to visit the Grandfolks - so my next post will be full of more pictures!

Elmer's first trip

2012-06-11T19:45:00.001-07:00

We went up to Flagstaff this past weekend to celebrate our 12th anniversary and attend my sister's wedding. It was a great opportunity to take Elmer on his first road trip and overnight stay! We drove up on Thursday afternoon and stayed until Sunday at the Arizona Mountain Inn. Chris worked there when he was attending NAU back in the early 90's, so it was a lot of fun for both of us to take a trip down memory lane. It was a beautiful weekend - the weather was perfect, and we went for some strolls (not exactly hikes) in the woods near the Inn, sat on our front porch quite a bit, took some naps, and generally relaxed. We enjoyed a nice dinner in the beer garden at Beaver Street Brewery.

Elmer handled the trip well - he did have a little trouble sleeping the first night at the cabin, but by the third night he was almost normal. He really enjoyed looking at all the trees and spending time outside.

On Sunday, my sister Sabrina married her fiance, Collin. It was a nice wedding held at the Chapel of the Holy Dove just north of Flagstaff.

We had a nice day with family before making the drive back to Phoenix. Elmer was well-behaved for the wedding and reception as always, despite a complete lack of naps during the day, but a 1 1/2 hour traffic delay heading home was just too much for him - he was totally exhausted and very upset by the time we got him home Sunday night. But he slept through the night, and has had many naps today to make up for such a busy weekend. He's very happy to be home!

More pictures from the weekend are on Flickr.

Baptism pictures are still coming!

Elmer's 4 months old

2012-05-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

Elmer had his four month checkup with the pediatrician last week. His current stats are:

Weight: 12 lbs 8 oz

Height: 25.5 inches

Head circumference: 16.5 inches

This is such a fun time- Elmer's growing and maturing so quickly! We've been exposing him to all sorts of new experiences. On Mother's Day weekend, we went to breakfast at the Farm at South Mountain:

Now that he can get his hand to his mouth reliably, he's experimenting with different finger combinations. Here's the traditional thumb:

While he can't sit up on his own, he's strong enough to be sit up in a chair for a while. I came home from work one afternoon and this is the sight that greeted me as I walked in the door. I'm such a lucky mama!

He hasn't rolled over yet, but he works very hard during tummy time! He's awfully close to rolling over from back to front, though. I just don't think he wants to be stuck on his belly.

He gives us lots of grins, laughs, squeals, gurgles, and coos. He's become quite the bubble blower and super drooler.

We had a big day yesterday, when Elmer was baptized at St. Mark's! We were joined by both our families - I don't think we've all gotten together like this for several years! I didn't take pictures, but everyone else did, so I will share those once I get them. It was a special day for us all.

Today, we'll celebrate Memorial Day by watching Chris play with Swing Memories at a patriotic dance!

16 weeks!

2012-05-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Elmer's 16 weeks old today! A lot has happened since our 3 month post! I've been back at work for 4 weeks now, and Chris and Elmer have been working out their own schedule. Chris has found ways to get his work done with Elmer in tow:

However, some days Chris has too many students to bring Elmer along, but I'm fortunate enough to be able to work from home on Tuesday afternoons. I usually plan to get some reading done:

Chris and I have been adjusting pretty well to our new routine. Elmer is also adjusting, and growing so quickly! He does push ups with me each morning:

He's also working on his drooling, sucking on his fist, grabbing things (especially Mama's hair, shirts, and holding hands), and he loves to smile and laugh:

Best of all, he's slept through the night a few times! I'd written a few weeks ago about Elmer's nighttime sleeping schedule - and then the day after I wrote that post, he slept from 6:30 PM to 6:00 AM! He's been waking up only once during the night - around midnight - pretty regularly for the last couple of weeks. For the last couple of nights, though, he's slept all night until just after 5 AM. I'd prefer him to make it until 6, but I'm not going to complain. I like getting 7 hours of uninterrupted* sleep!

We have lots of plans coming up: Elmer will be baptized at St. Mark's on May 27th, we'll take our first weekend trip as a family in early June, our annual Utah trip at the end of the month, and a Perry family cabin trip in July! We're looking forward to sharing all these activities with our sweet little boy! Stay tuned for updates this summer!

*except for Charlie, who typically wants us to get up at 3 AM to feed him.

Working Mama

2012-05-03T13:07:00.001-07:00

I've been back at work for nearly 3 weeks now and have been meaning to post some of my thoughts about it. I generally get asked 2 questions: Am I glad to be back? and Is it hard to be back? The answers are a little complicated.

I am glad to be back - I returned to the news that my promotion and continuing appointment packet was approved, so as of July 1 I will be promoted to the rank of Associate Librarian and get to keep my job for the foreseeable future. I enjoy doing what I do and working with the people at ASU. My supervisor is very supportive and allows me to have a fairly flexible schedule so Chris and I can usually make sure one of us is available to be with Elmer while attending to our various responsibilities.

Is it hard to be back? Yes and no. Yes because I only get to spend time with Elmer in the morning before work, and I get home just in time to put him to bed in the evening. But I'm trying to take my time with him in the mornings and not rush around to get ready - in general, I do my best to always be patient and enjoy the moments with Elmer, even at 3 AM! And yes, because I do have to pump at work and I feel a little pressure to produce enough food for the next day. Nursing is much preferable to pumping! However, after some trial and error, I've figured out that a twice daily pumping works well for me, producing enough milk for the next day's feedings. I pump just before lunch, and then again at 4:00 before I leave for home. I think it helped, too, that I just accepted that it's not the end of the world if Chris needs to make a bottle of formula once in a while. Pumping works a lot better if you aren't stressed out about how much you're squeezing out!

No, it's not hard to be back, because being at work is like traveling back in time. My office is the same, my desk, and my responsibilities (more or less - they're always changing). Once I get on my bike and start pedaling to work, it's the same routine I've had for the past 6 years. If it weren't for pumping, it'd be easy to forget I even had a baby! And it's not hard because I know that Elmer's in good hands with his father - I never have to worry about him during the day.

I've noticed a few changes in my outlook on work/life balance. I am less likely to goof off because I'm more aware that if I'm not being productive at work, my time would be better spent at home. I'm becoming more focused on getting things done and using my time more efficiently, both at work and at home. I'm very motivated to leave work promptly in the evening so I can get home in time for Elmer's bath and bedtime routine. And weekends have an additional sweetness - not only do I get to spend more time with my husband, I get to be with my son. Also, no pumping!

*A pumping footnote -I use a Medela Pump In Style Advanced, which seems to work very well for me, and I strongly recommend a hands free bustier (like this one). I have a private office with a window I can easily block off, so I can just continue to work while pumping.